Plaintiffs Praise Boston Church Leader

Published 8:00 pm, Monday, July 7, 2003

Lawyers for alleged victims of pedophile priests said they were encouraged by new steps taken by the Roman Catholic archbishop-elect, particularly his selection of an attorney who had worked with him before to settle abuse cases.

"The climate has changed," said attorney Roderick MacLeish Jr., whose firm has 260 cases pending against the Boston archdiocese. "The mood has changed. There's going to be some fresh perspectives."

Bishop Sean Patrick O'Malley, who last week was chosen to head the troubled archdiocese, on Monday hired Thomas Hannigan as his personal attorney.

Hannigan was O'Malley's lawyer in Fall River, where O'Malley led the diocese for a decade before becoming the bishop of Palm Beach, Fla., last year.

In Fall River, MacLeish represented the victims of former priest James Porter, who was convicted a decade ago in one of the biggest church abuse scandals of the time. Hannigan and MacLeish settled 101 civil cases.

The naming of Hannigan, MacLeish said, is "very positive development. Tom's a very good person. When he says things, you can count on it. He is going to be a very significant player in this."

He declined to discuss any details of any talks between plaintiffs and church officials; the two sides have been trying to reach a settlement. But he said there was "a new tone to the communications that we're receiving. There has been some movement on important issues. There hopefully will be more."

Another attorney, Mitchell Garabedian, who has 112 cases pending against the archdiocese, said, "It is my understanding the tone is positive."

Attorneys for the plaintiffs and the archdiocese were scheduled to meet Tuesday with Suffolk Superior Court Judge Constance Sweeney to discuss the status of the cases.